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Kumarakom Lake Village Heritage
Resort: Kumarakom Houseboat
The
kettuvallam or ‘boat with knots’- was so called because the entire
boat was held together with coir knots only - not even a single nail
is used during the construction. The boat is made of planks of
jack-wood joined together with coir. This is then coated with a
caustic black resin made from boiled cashew kernels . When the
modern trucks replaced this system of transport, some one found a
new way that would keep these boats, almost all of which were more
than 100 years old, in the market. By constructing special rooms to
accommodate travelers, these boats cruised forward from near-
extinction to enjoy their present great popularity. The traditional
houseboat, the indispensable part of the picturesque backwaters of
Kerala, was mainly used in Travancore and Kochi and in the Minicoy
Islands in olden times.
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